The Go To Travel campaign is still temporarily suspended, but many hotels have been offering their own discount deals instead. While you wait for Japan’s new ¥7,000 staycation allowance, this new offer from VMG Hotels & Unique Venues is a bargain worth checking out.
You can now get a discount of 35 percent at seven of the company’s spectacular boutique hotels in Nara, Fukuoka, Hyogo and Mie prefectures. The hotels are generally set in smaller cities, amongst well-preserved traditional buildings, some of which are even in officially designated national cultural properties. Plus, the hotels are an hour or two by car from the city centre, so you’ll get to experience a different side of Japan, away from the hustle and bustle, and off the beaten track in some of the most serene locations.
The hotels available in the deal are:
Sasayama Castle Town Hotel Nipponia (Hyogo)
Fukuzumi Shukuba Town Hotel Nipponia (Hyogo)
Takeda Castle Castle Town Hotel En (Hyogo)
Nipponia Hotel Nara Naramachi (Nara)
Nipponia Hotel Iga Ueno Castle Town (Mie)
Nipponia Hotel Yame Fukushima Shokamachi (Fukuoka)
Hotel Cultia Daizaifu (Fukuoka)
Each hotel in the list above is made up of several individual buildings scattered around the area, and each building allows a maximum of five groups at one time, meaning you won’t be making much contact with other hotel guests. You can even request an entire building to yourself if you book through these special links for Kansai (Nara, Hyogo, Mie) and Kyushu (Fukuoka).
Even with the discount, your stay still comes with breakfast and dinner made with local ingredients like grilled fish marinated in Toyosawa Brewery's sake from Nara, Iga beef from Mie and black soybeans from Hyogo, which you won’t want to miss. As the current Covid-19 situation is rather volatile, not to worry if you have to amend your booking – you can reschedule for a later date (until July 31) and keep the discount, as long as you make the changes at least three days in advance.
This offer is available for stays until April 27; however if Go to Travel resumes before that – which seems highly unlikely – the promotion will stop running. You can book a room now via the hotels' respective websites listed above.
More news
Take our Time Out Index survey and tell us what life is like in Tokyo
This night tour in Nagano takes you to one of the best stargazing spots in Japan
Japan's Coca-Cola vending machines will offer a subscription service from April
You can now ride a real Thomas the Tank Engine train in Japan
Japan’s Covid-19 vaccination information is now in 17 languages including English
Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan.